clasby



S. M. CLASBY. BRASSIERE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22. 1918.

1,354,467. Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

PATENT OFFICE.

STELLA M. CLASBY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BnAssInRE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

Application filed November 22, 1918. Serial Ito. 263,650.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, STELLA M. (Insert, acitizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of NewYork and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Brassieres; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description'of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same. I

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described,reference being had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate oneembodiment of the invention selected by me for purposes of illustration,and the said invention is fully disclosed in the following descriptionand claims.

The object of my invention is toprovide a brassiere especially adaptedto confine the figure at and adjacent to the waist line and to supportand draw down the bust portion of the figure and support it firmly.

My improved brassiere is designed particularly for use in connectionwith the modern corset at present in use,- which terminates at its upperedge at or slightly above the waist line and therefore affords nosupport for the fleshy waist portion of the figure above the abdomen,and the bust portion. However, my improved brassiere may be usedadvantageously with any other form of corset, or in lieu of corset, ifde sired. Referring to the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 is a plan Viewof an embodiment of my improved brassiere as it would appear when spreadout on a flat surface, one side, of the waist member being folded overupon itself. I

Fig. 2-is a perspective view illustrating the position of the brassierewhen applied to the figure.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the brassiere applied to the figurewith one of the front portions of the upper body member secured inposition, before the other front portion of the upper body member hasbeen so secured.

My improved brassiere comprises two members, -to-wit-a waist member, orbelt member, for confining the fleshy portion of the figure above theabdomen and adj acent to the waist line, and an upper body member fordrawing down, confining and supporting the bust portionof the figure;these two members being united at the back and around the body,preferably as far as the under-arm portion of the garment and beingwholly disconnected at the front portions of said members, the beltmember being provided at its front meeting edges with means for unitingthe same, and means being provided on the belt member for securing theends of the upper body member, which are crossed over the bust portionof the figure in a downward direction and anchored adjustably to thebelt member at opposite'sides of the same, and nearly in line with theunder-arm portion.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form of my invention,selected by me for the purpose of illustrating the same,

1 represents the belt member, which comprises a back portion 2, andseparable front portions, 33, and having their meeting edges providedwith suitable, adjustable connecting means, in this instance, eyelets,44, and lacing tapes, 5-5, being shown. The tapes, 55, being secured oneto each of the front portions, 83, and adjacent to the row of eyeletstherein to facilitate the opening of the belt portion. The upper edge ofthe belt portion, as illustrated in Fig. 1, is a substantially uniformcurve, as indicated at 6, while the lower edge of the belt member issubstantially straight at the back, as indicated at 7, and extendsforward and downward in a compound curve,

as indicated at S. I have found that this configuration of the beltadapts the front portions of it, particularly to fit securely and remainimmovable upon the fleshy portion of the figure above the abdomen.

I prefer to provide the front portions, 33, of the belt member withsuitable stifiening, or bones, for the purpose of keeping the saidportions properly placed upon the fleshy portion of the figure above theabdomen. 0n the exterior of the belt member, adjacent to the under-armportion thereof, I provide means for the adjustable attachment of thecrossed ends of the upper body member hereinafter described, which maybe of any desired character. I have, however, found it convenient andadvantageous to employ for this purpose, anchor rings indicated at 9-9,secured at one side of the same to the belt or waist member, as clearlyshown in Fig. 1. 10 represents the upper body member which comprises aback portion, 11, which is permanently united to the back portion 2,ofthe belt member 1', and the upper body member also comprises theforwardly and downwardly extending loose front portions 12-12. The upperbody member. being provided with arm-' may be passed through the anchorrings 9,

on the belt member and secured adjustably thereto. 1

I prefer to form the upper body portion of the brassiere entirely ofnet, or openwork material, in which case the garment performs to acertain extent, the function of a camisole, and I prefer to provide theupper edge of theupper body portion with an ornamental edge ofinsertion, lace or other decorative edging, indicated at 19, and I alsoprefer to provide the extreme upper edge, of the garment at the upperextremity of said edging with a drawingstring, 20, for the purpose ofsecuring a proper fit of the upper edge of the garment and for holdingthe decorative edge in position. I do not, however, limit myself to theparticular materials, or character of materials from which the severalmembers of the garment are made, or the specific securing devicesdescribed, although I have found it very advantageous to construct thegarment in the manner described.

I also prefer to provide the fronts, 12-12,

V of the upper body member with vertically disposed reinforced seams,2121, slightly forward of the arm-hole or adjacent thereto,and toreinforce the arm-holes, as inclicated at 2222, and to connect thereinforcing of the arm-holes withthese adjacent reinforced seams, 2121,by one or more, (preferably three) strips 2323, (see Figs. 1 and 2),which are disposed in general alinement with the securing tapes, 1515,

i and strengthen the front to resist longitudinal strain.

- In applying the garment the arms are slipped through the arm-holes,1313,-and the belt or waist portion is brought around the body, themeeting edges of the fronts, ill-55, being adjustably secured by thelaces, 55, or other means so as to firmly secure the waist member of thegarment to the body and to draw in and confine the fleshy portion of thefigure above the abdominal portion. The front portions 1212, of theupper body member are then crossed one over the other and are drawn downand secured to the belt or waist member 2, at a point substantially inline with the under-arm section, in this instance by passing the tapes,1515, through the anchor rings 9, and securing the tapes adjustably togive the proper tension over the bust portion of the figure, by means ofthe adjustablefastenings, 16 and 17. It will be seen that by crossingthese front portions, 1212,'and attaching them to the belt member at theside, each of these front portions acts not only downwardlybut alsolaterally to draw the bustportions inward and downward and firmlysupport them, thus giving an extremely trim and graceful configurationto the supported portions of the body without putting any undue orinjurious pressure thereon and at the same time holdingthe bust firmlyin its supported position. lVhere the ornamental edge anddrawing-string, 20, are employed, the drawing-string will be adjustedandtied in the usual manner and it will be generally understood thatthis garment may be made up in more orless expensive materialsanddecorated to a greater orless extent as may be desired according to thetaste of the manufacturer or user.

WhatI' desire to s cure by Letters Patent is 1. A brassiere comprising ahorizontally disposed abdominal belt member, for confining the abdominalportion of the body adacent'to the waistline, and an upper body member,united to the rear portion only of belt member, whereby saidelongatedfpor- I tions can be drawn downwardly and crossed over the bustand secured to the belt member to compress the bust downwardly andinwardly toward the front and center of the garment.

2. A. brassiere comprising a horizontally disposed abdominal beltmember, forconfining the abdominal portion of the body adj acent tothe'waist line, and an upper body member, united to the rear portiononly of the belt member, and having elongated front portions eachadapted to extend diagonally downward over the bust, across the front ofthefigure, to the opposite side of the belt member, and means forsecuring said elongated front portions to the belt member at pointslocated adjacent to the waist line thereof and at a considerabledistance laterally from-the front central portionof the belt member,fastening, devices located on the to the Waist line and at considerabledistances laterally on opposite sides of the front central portionthereof, and securing means connected with said elongated front portionsfor adjustably engaging said fastening devices, whereby said elongatedfront portions can be drawn downwardly over the bust and crossed, andthe end of eachv secured to the opposite side of the belt portion tohold the bust under compression downwardly and toward the front centerof the garment.

3. A brassiere comprising an abdominal belt member, having its meetingends at the front, and provided with securing means for said meetingends, an upper body member provided with a back, arm holes, andelongated front portions, the back portion of said upper body memberbeing united to the belt member, said belt member being providedadjacent to the waist line with anchoring devices on opposite sides ofthe center of the front portion, each designed to secure the end of theopposite elongated front portion of the upper body member, and deviceson said elongated front portions of the upper body member for adjustablyengaging said anchoring devices.

4. A brassiere comprising an abdominal belt member, having its meetingends at the front, and provided with securing means for said meetingends, an upper body member provided with a back, arm holes, andelongated front portions, the back portion of said upper body memberbeing united to the belt member, said belt member being providedadjacent to the waist line with an choring devices on opposite sides ofthe center of the front portion, each designed to secure the end of theopposite elongated front portion of the upper body member, and deviceson said elongated front portions of the upper body member for adjustablyengaging said anchoring devices, vertical stays secured to said frontportions of the upper body forward of the arm holes, and horizontallydisposed stays extending from each of the said vertical stays to theadja- I cent arm hole.

Intestimony whereof I afiix my signature.

STELLA M. CLASBY.

